机器人定点投篮命中率超运动员

A humanoid* robot that shoots hoops* better than professional basketball players has been unveiled by Toyota.

Named “Cue,” the android* can shoot with nearly 100 percent accuracy at short distances, according to the Japanese engineers behind the project. It has learned to score hoops* using artificial intelligence (AI*) having thrown some 200,000 practice shots.

In a shootout, the robot scored more free-throws* than players at Arvalq Tokyo, a team in Japan’s top professional league.

Cue is 1.9 meters tall, shorter than the average NBA player at 2 meters. It was developed by the Toyota Engineering Society, who decked the android out with its own jersey and shorts.

When handed a ball, Cue squats and then throws the ball using the same movements as a real player.

It can score from distances of up to 3.6 meters, according to its developers.

A video of the humanoid robot shows it repeatedly scoring free-throws during a practice shootout with real athletes. While professionals Seiya Ando and Zack Baranski together netted eight of their 10 shots, Cue scored 100 percent of his efforts.

The robot is attached to a small platform connected by power cables, hindering it from moving freely around the court, so it’s unlikely to appear in any B League fixtures just yet.

Around 17 Toyota employees volunteered to build Cue in their free time. The team said none of their members had any experience building robots, with the group learning to program AI via guides on the Internet.

The design of the android was based on cartoon character Sakuragi Hanamichi, the main character in Japanese manga “Slam Dunk.” In the popular TV show, Hanamichi is introduced to basketball after being repeatedly rejected by girls.

Basketball is not the only sport robots have mastered, with engineers designing androids that can ski, play football and boxing in recent years.

In July, the robot equivalent of the World Cup was held over four days in the Japanese city of Nagoya. The RoboCup has been held every year since 1997 with hundreds of competitors from dozens of countries participating every year.

(SD-Agencies)